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GOP pumps Americans at the pump

San Luis Obispo

It’s no wonder that the GOP is becoming known as the Gang Of Pirates. I just received a brochure in the mail from Central Valley Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy, who says that we can “immediately” lower gas prices by increasing production of oil and gas, in other words, by more drilling off of our coasts and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Then, incredibly, he says, “We have the ability to produce an additional one million barrels of oil, which would lower gas prices by at least fifty cents.” To appear rounded out and throw environmentalists a bone he does toss in other energy possibilities, like “solar-powered hybrid cars,” as a future solution, but mass-produced and affordable solar-powered cars are so far in the future as not to be feasible any time soon and he knows that. This is really about oil.

Not only would it take at least a decade for any savings to come to the American driver at the pump, if it came at all it would amount to mere pennies. This is well-established information, and someone like a Congressman should know that and inform people honestly. But, no—all Republicans seem to care about is enriching themselves by enriching their buddies in Big Oil. Oil is leading the world down a cliff in more ways than one. The timeÜis well past to switch wholesale to such decentralized, alternative renewable energy sources as solar and wind, for all fixed structure buildings in the country, where they would actually work now to save us a bundle and lessen our use of oil—not just keep on drilling.